The Border Wall That the U.S., Not Mexico, Is Paying For

From the very start of his campaign for the U.S. presidency, Donald Trump has passionately promoted construction of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Even if it’s not as vast as he once envisaged, or made of concrete as he used to describe it, or financed by Mexico as he famously promised his supporters, Trump can and does cite progress on his signature project. He’s managed to fund it in large part by circumventing Congress, where resistance helped force a record 35-day partial government shutdown in late 2018 into 2019. Funding for the project might stop if Trump is defeated in November by his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Trump, in his many public statements on immigration and border security, has said an “impenetrable” wall would “stop dangerous drugs and criminals from pouring into our country.” Trump and his aides also have talked up the notion that a wall might stop terrorists from entering the U.S. and curtail human trafficking. In July, Trump went so far as to claim that, were it not for the wall, the U.S. would be “inundated” with coronavirus.